Washington, Jan 28 (PTI): President Donald Trump today signed an executive order which establishes new vetting measures to limit the flow of refugees and "keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the US".

"I'm establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America. We don't want them here," Trump said after he signed the executive order in his first visit to the Pentagon, a week after he was sworn in as the President.

"We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people," Trump said.

"We will never forget the lessons of 9/11 nor the heroes who lost at the Pentagon. They were the best of us. We will honour them not only with our words, but with our actions, and that's what we're doing today," said Trump flanked with the new Defense Secretary Gen (rtd) James Mattis and the Vice President Mike Pence.

The executive order "Protection of The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States" notes that the steps taken by the US in the aftermath of 9/11 has not been able to deter terrorists from entering the country.

"Numerous foreign-born individuals have been convicted or implicated in terrorism-related crimes since September 11, 2001, including foreign nationals who entered the US after receiving visitor, student, or employment visas, or who entered through the US refugee resettlement program," it said.

Deteriorating conditions in certain countries due to war, strife, disaster, and civil unrest increase the likelihood that terrorists will use any means possible to enter the US, the executive order said.

The US must be vigilant during the visa-issuance process to ensure that those approved for admission do not intend to harm Americans and that they have no ties to terrorism, it said.

"In order to protect Americans, the US must ensure that those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles," the executive order said adding that the US cannot, and should not, admit those who do not support the Constitution, or those who would place violent ideologies over American law.

In addition, the US should not admit those who engage in acts of bigotry or hatred (including "honour" killings, other forms of violence against women, or the persecution of those who practice religions different from their own) or those who would oppress Americans of any race, gender, or sexual orientation, it said.

The executive order suspends the US Refugee Admissions Programme for 120 days until it is reinstated "only for nationals of countries for whom" members of Trump's Cabinet deem can be properly vetted.

The order also prevents all persons from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen from entering the country for 30 days.

Widespread condemnation

Washington, Jan 28 (IANS): US President Donald Trump's 'extreme vetting' executive order to bar entry to the US to refugees and immigrants from certain Muslim-majority countries has evoked widespread condemnation, including from Nobel Peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg.

The extreme vetting order will suspend the entry of immigrants and non-immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days, whereas refugees from Syria were indefinitely banned. It added all refugee admissions to be suspended for 120 days, and refugee numbers would be cut down to a maximum of 50,000 in 2017 (less than half the previous year's figure of 117,000), and prioritise Christians refugees.

According the Guardian newspaper, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Friday said it will file a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the order "because its apparent purpose and underlying motive is to ban people of the Islamic faith from Muslim-majority countries from entering the US".

"There is no evidence that refugees -- the most thoroughly vetted of all people entering our nation -- are a threat to national security," said CAIR's Lena F. Masri. "This is an order that is based on bigotry, not reality."

World's youngest Nobel Peace prize winner Malala said she was "heartbroken" that America was "turning its back on a proud history of welcoming refugees and immigrants -- the people who helped build your country, ready to work hard in exchange for a fair chance at a new life".

She said: "I am heartbroken that Syrian refugee children, who have suffered through six years of war by no fault of their own, are singled out for discrimination."

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said he was "concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by Trump".

Zuckerberg, who is Jewish, said his great-grandparents came to the US from Germany, Austria and Poland and his wife's parents were refugees from China and Vietnam.

"The US is a nation of immigrants, and we should be proud of that," he said.

Zuckerberg expressed a hope that Trump would not reverse former President Barack Obama's decision to allow undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children to work in the US.

Khizr Khan, whose son Humayun Khan died saving his unit from an Iraqi suicide bomb and was a focus of attacks by Trump earlier this year, said the President's "race to violate constitutional principles and fundamental American values by targeting Muslims and immigrants is of tremendous concern".

Earlier this week, Nihad Awad of CAIR said Muslims would be "the sole targets" of Trump's action.

"These orders are a disturbing confirmation of Islamophobic and un-American policy proposals made during the presidential election campaign," he said.

Manar Waheed, a former political appointee for the Obama administration, told the Guardian that the President's order was a "de facto ban on Muslims" that would only serve to alienate key allies across the globe and millions of Muslims living in the US.

David Miliband, President and chief executive of the International Rescue Committee, said refugees were "fleeing terror -- they are not terrorists".

"At a time when there are more refugees than ever, America must remain true to its core values," the former British Foreign Secretary said. "The US must remain a beacon of hope."

Speaking on Thursday, a day before Trump announced his shift in refugee policy, Madeleine Albright, the former US Secretary of State, quoted the words enshrined beneath the Statue of Liberty.

That read: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

"There is no fine print on the Statue of Liberty," said Albright, who came to the US as a child when her family fled Nazi persecution.

"Today she is weeping because of the actions of President Trump."